


5 Times In Which Ianto Waited for Jack

by thepsychicclam



Category: Torchwood
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-03
Updated: 2011-07-03
Packaged: 2017-10-22 04:10:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/233602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thepsychicclam/pseuds/thepsychicclam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ianto always waits for Jack.</p>
            </blockquote>





	5 Times In Which Ianto Waited for Jack

1.  
Sometimes, Jack realized, Ianto seemed to watch him and then look at the clock like he was waiting for him to leave. Jack wasn’t sure why Ianto always stayed at work so late, but he figured that he was still familiarizing himself with this Torchwood headquarters. It had to be confusing to work for two different Torchwoods, and Jack really didn’t care how long he stayed at the Hub as long as he kept the coffee coming and everything clean. The Hub hadn’t been this clean since…well, ever.

Jack sometimes stayed late just to see the way Ianto would act. He’d feed Myfanwy, sweep, do some work in the archives. He’d ignore Jack, sometimes bring him coffee, sometimes watch him when he thought Jack wasn’t looking. But he always seemed slightly annoyed. Jack wondered if Ianto had a secret project going on in the Hub after hours, pterodactyl breeding or crosspollinating coffee beans, but he never entertained the thought seriously.

There were some nights, however, where Ianto seemed to like it when Jack stayed after. He would talk to him, and more than a “yes, sir” or “Indian today?” Jack found out quite a bit about Ianto those nights, about his father, his sister, niece and nephew, some insight into his thief-days. It was almost, Jack thought, like Ianto wanted him there for the company.

After Jack found out about Lisa, he realized why Ianto had wanted him to leave all those nights. He did have a secret project in the Hub, just a more sinister one than Jack ever entertained. Jack was pissed – and boy, was he pissed – but part of him empathized, too. Jack could understand that, loving someone so much you just couldn’t let them go. That’s why he went a little easier on Ianto than he probably should have. Well, that, and the fact that he had a nice ass.

When Ianto came back from suspension, Jack noticed that Ianto still occasionally acted like he wanted Jack to hang around. Jack had convinced himself that Ianto had never wanted him there, even though Jack had thought he did, because who wanted the boss around when they needed to go and check on their cybergirlfriend? But each time Ianto brought him coffee after hours, made an attempt at conversation, or went into the bunk to turn down the bed and place fresh towels on top of it, Jack didn’t know what to think.

“Why don’t you ever go home at night?” Jack asked him one night.

“Don’t sleep much these days,” Ianto answered, setting a cup of coffee beside Jack’s elbow. Jack was tracking some rift activity. It wasn’t very important, but he wanted a reason to stay later with Ianto. Not that he needed a reason; he was the boss, after all, and lived at the Hub (and stayed there most nights, too).

Jack nodded and swiveled around in his chair. “This rift activity is turning out to be nothing,” he said. He didn’t add that he had known that when he started on it. He didn’t think that Ianto needed to know that part. “Do you like cards?”

“What kind of cards?” Ianto asked.

“I don’t know. Gin rummy, canasta, go fish.”

“Go fish? Who plays go fish after they’ve hit puberty?” Ianto asked.

“Hey, I don’t judge.” Jack grabbed his coffee mug and walked towards his office, motioning for Ianto to follow him. “I have a deck in my desk.”

Ianto followed him, but hung back in the doorway. “I really should get home, sir.”

“So you can do what? Not sleep?” Jack held up the deck of cards and smiled. “This would be much more fun.”

Ianto seemed to mentally weigh the options, and Jack wondered what was going through that brain of his. Though, he was finding himself much more curious about his lips than his brain.

“Okay,” Ianto finally said. “But let me go make a pot of coffee first.”

“I’ll deal.”

2.  
Ianto had been tidying up Jack’s office for the past thirty minutes. He straightened some stacks of papers, dusted a few surfaces, went through the junk mail, and cleared away some empty coffee mugs. After he finished all that, he stood around, moving this and that, until he finally realized there was nothing more to clean. Jack tried to concentrate on the report in front of him instead of Ianto, but Ianto’s clear determination to find _something_ to do in his office was amusing. Jack had to bite back a laugh a few times. Laughing would disturb Ianto, and maybe even chase him away, and Jack didn’t mind that Ianto was in there. Except that Ianto was slightly distracting and he really had to finish the report and captain’s log before leaving. He would have to multi-task; report and watch Ianto.

Finally, after Jack figured Ianto realized there was nothing else to pretend to do, he sat down in the chair facing Jack’s desk. He pulled a book of crosswords from somewhere (and Jack wasn’t sure where, but he’d sure as hell liked to find out…after the report, that is) and opened it to somewhere in the middle. For a few minutes, Jack concentrated solely on the report.

“What’s a five letter word for overcharge?” Ianto asked.

“Don’t know,” Jack replied, not even looking up from the report.

“Bugger,” Ianto whispered, then went quiet again. Five minutes later, Ianto tossed the book to the floor. “I’m no good at crosswords. Don’t know why I even try. I just think I should be able to fill those little bloody boxes up with letters without any problems. I can solve complex codes and hack into government secured servers, but I can’t figure out a five-letter word for overcharge.”

Jack chuckled and kept on writing. He saw in his periphery that Ianto was fidgeting. He was picking up random objects strewn around the office and replacing them again.

“You have a lot of crap,” Ianto finally said.

“I guess,” Jack answered.

“Guess I never considered you a collector of things. I’d hate to see the storage unit full of all your memories. It’d probably take an entire facility and then some. And knowing you, it’d be completely out-of-order, poorly stored, and thrown in randomly. I’ve seen the archives. And your closet.”

Jack looked up and glared at him briefly. “I don’t collect things. This is just space junk we haven’t identified. You could make yourself useful and start naming it.”

Ianto frowned, but picked up a nearby object. It was a cylindrical glass vase with a few errant wires along the sides. “I can’t name it if I don’t know what it does. It would end up misleading, and therefore be stupid.”

“Because none of your other names are stupid.”

“I stand by the names.” Ianto replaced the object.

“Why don’t you go talk to the others while I finish this?” Jack asked. Ianto was much more interesting (and bothersome) than the mundane report he was never going to finish. He’d only written a paragraph since Ianto sat down.

“About what?”

“Anything.”

Ianto seemed to ponder the suggestion. “I really wouldn’t know what to talk to Gwen about. I haven’t really talked to her beyond cases and what kind of toppings she likes on her pizza.”

“Well, that still leaves Tosh and Owen.”

“Owen and I generally only argue, unless I’m helping him with something unpleasant in the autopsy room, and then he likes me for a bit. I do actually enjoy talking to Tosh.”

“Then why don’t you go talk to her now?” Jack asked. He wasn’t actually annoyed, or really wanted Ianto to leave, but dammit, if Ianto didn’t leave, he would never get this done, and he would be in his office all night. And not doing the kinds of things he liked to do all night in his office. With Ianto.

“We’ve been talking all day,” Ianto explained. “She explained this new program she created, and it seems I’m the only one who really cared. She has some of the most fascinating theories about the rift and some of the objects we’ve collected. But eventually, she always starts doing that girl thing and it gets all weird.”

“What girl thing?” Jack asked distractedly. He had resigned to the fact that he was going to have finish his work while Ianto rambled. He was quite intrigued by how talkative Ianto was today; usually he was much quieter and reserved.

“The feelings, emotional thing,” Ianto said.

“And you’re not emotional?” Jack challenged.

“Not like Tosh.” Ianto shuddered. “Women.”

“Done with women now, are we?”

“Maybe.”

Jack realized he’d tiptoed close to an off-limits subject and hoped that Ianto would fill the uncomfortable void. He continued working, glad that he had something to deter his attention so he wouldn’t have to look at Ianto. He never liked the expression that ghosted his face when those thoughts started creeping up.

“Do you want me to order some food? It’s getting late,” Ianto asked a few minutes later.

“No. We can get something when I’m done.”

“Indian?”

“Chinese,” Jack said.

“I had Chinese for lunch.”

“You did?” Jack asked, looking up. “I don’t remember you having Chinese.”

“Tosh and I went after she finished explaining her program to me.”

“Before she got all girly?”

“Exactly.”

“Italian?”

“Sounds good.” Ianto settled into his seat and started humming. Jack found that slightly distracting, too, but not as much as the chatter.

Half an hour (and three Ianto disruptions) later, Jack finished typing the last sentence of the captain’s log. It could have been longer, and perhaps a touch more detailed, but the case was one that didn’t really warrant a thorough report.

“Now,” Jack said, putting his papers away.

“You filed that in the wrong place,” Ianto pointed out. Jack rolled his eyes in annoyance, but handed the file to Ianto. He didn’t tell him, but he was glad someone knew where the hell everything went. Life had been so much easier since Ianto started working there.

When Ianto finished, Jack grabbed his hips and pulled him roughly against him. “Now,” he said again, “perhaps we can find a better use for your mouth.”

“Like what?” Ianto asked innocently, eyebrow arching.

“Something that’ll stop that useless prattling.” Jack kissed Ianto, pressing his mouth against the other hard. Jack didn’t tell Ianto that he didn’t mind his useless prattling, almost liked it, because he knew he’d like what he had in mind for Ianto’s mouth even better.

3.  
Clothes were thrown haphazardly on the floor, empty dinner dishes littered the table, and the kitchen was still a mess from where Ianto had cooked dinner. All of that was forgotten as Jack kissed Ianto.

Jack thought they still had on too many clothes, and yanked the rest of his off as Ianto followed suit. As soon as they were naked, Jack reached out for Ianto, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him close. Ianto put out his hands to stop their bodies from touching. Jack stared at him, confused.

“What – “Jack began, but Ianto put a hand to his lips to quiet him. Jack lost interest in the question and focused on Ianto’s fingers barely touching his lips.

“Wait,” Ianto said, tracing the outline of Jack’s lips with his fingertips. Jack closed his eyes. When the sensation stopped, Jack opened his eyes and realized Ianto had stepped behind him. Jack reached to touch him, but he wrapped his fingers around Jack’s forearms and placed them back by his side. Jack followed Ianto’s lead, not exactly sure where this was going, but anxious to find out. With Ianto, he still never knew what to expect, no matter how many times they slept together. Ianto said he was the mysterious in the bed, but Jack didn’t think he was nearly as interesting as Ianto.

Ianto slid his hands slowly up Jack’s arms, leaving a tingling trail behind. He smoothed them over Jack’s biceps, around his shoulders, up his neck, fingers circling and meeting across his Adam’s apple. Jack swallowed, felt Ianto’s fingers lift and sink. Ianto kissed the space between Jack’s shoulder blades, pressing chaste lips against skin. He kissed again, just above that spot, lips a little more open, a little more damp. Another kiss, an inch higher, mouth open enough so Jack could feel Ianto’s hot breath on his neck. Ianto trailed kisses along Jack’s hairline, behind his ear, fingers still pressed against his neck.

Slowly, Ianto dropped his hands and nudged Jack’s shoulders. Jack spun around, too quickly, and went in for a kiss, but Ianto turned his head and Jack landed against his jaw line. “I want to kiss you,” Jack whispered against Ianto’s jaw, tracing his tongue against the day’s stubble.

“Soon,” Ianto said, voice more stable than Jack knew his was. “Lay back on the bed,” Ianto instructed, and Jack was more than happy to oblige. He could have leaped the space in a single bound, but he was taking cues from Ianto, and so he backed away slowly, eyes never leaving Ianto’s. When he lowered himself onto the bed, he watched Ianto coming towards him, like a cat prowling forward, eyes intently focused. Jack’s eyes quickly strayed from his face, down across the bare expanse of Ianto’s chest, trail of hair leading to his very erect cock. Jack liked this sight, a very focused and horny Ianto Jones looming over him.

Ianto stood there, looking like he was trying to decide what to do next. Jack waited as patiently; he was enjoying this way too much to rush.

“Touch yourself,” Ianto whispered, voice barely audible in the silent room. Jack stared at him for a moment, shocked, then obeyed. He wrapped his fingers around his stiff cock, adding just a bit of dramatic flair for show. Ianto watched intently, eyes glued to Jack’s hand sliding up and down his shaft. Jack took his thumb and circled the tip wantonly, acting every bit the whore for his audience. He wasn’t sure he was going to be able to last, but there was no way he was going to interrupt his show for Ianto. He cupped his balls with his other hand, squeezing them lightly as he pumped his fist slowly. He saw Ianto swallow and take a deep breath.

“Turn over,” Ianto breathed. Jack grinned widely and sat up on his knees, level with Ianto.

“Does this mean Ianto wants to top?” he teased lightly. Ianto opened his mouth to say something, but couldn’t seem to find the words, so he closed his mouth again and nodded his head. Jack smiled and grabbed Ianto’s head, pulling him in for a kiss. Ianto relented this time, opening his mouth as Jack’s tongue swiped across his lips and teeth. They kissed for a few minutes, neither moving their bodies, just their mouths as their lips danced against each other. Ianto finally grabbed Jack’s hand and brought it to his face, breaking the kiss and sucking the thumb Jack had on his cock into his mouth. Jack let out a moan. “Dirty boy,” he whispered. Ianto circled the digit with his tongue, all so Jack could see. Jack growled. “Are you going to fuck me or tease me?”

Ianto bit down on his thumb. “Does it matter?”

“No. I just need to be prepared for either.”

Ianto smiled and leaned forward, flicking his tongue against the lobe of Jack’s ear. “Turn over, then.”

Jack readily complied, flipping himself over and laying his head on his hands. He waited, and didn’t expect to feel Ianto’s lips against his lower back. Ianto placed wet kisses up his spine, tongue and lip and teeth against his skin. Jack wasn’t sure he was going to get to the sex if Ianto kept up with all this.

“Ianto,” Jack breathed. Ianto bit Jack’s side, _hard_ , and Jack cried out in surprise. Ianto bit the same spot again, then removed himself completely. Jack turned his head to the side and saw Ianto picking up the bottle of lube from the bedside table. “Bout damn time,” Jack said.

Ianto dragged his fingers along Jack’s cleft, brushing lightly against his entrance. Jack rocked his hips backwards, trying to urge him on. Ianto pressed a finger inside, sliding it in and out tantalizingly slow. He added another, then another, working his fingers in and out of Jack’s asshole. Jack was pushing back into Ianto’s fingers and sighed when he removed him, because as much as he loved Ianto’s fingers, he loved his cock more.

Without any hesitation, Ianto thrust into Jack, stretching and pushing and burning and _ohgodyes_. Jack waited for Ianto to set up a rhythm, a back and forth of slow and fast, which Jack tried to meet at each thrust. He gripped the sheets in his hand, moaning a string of Ianto’s name, curses, random alien phrases, and some _yes_ es and _ohplease_ s. Ianto gripped Jack’s hips roughly, hard enough to leave fingertip-shaped bruises. Then, he leaned down, pressing his body right against Jack, his thrusting coming at a new and strange angle, and whispered against Jack’s ear, “Come for me.”

Jack was definitely okay with that, and with Ianto saying those things into his ear, but he wasn’t quite ready for that yet. He was enjoying this all way too much. Ianto placed a few brief kisses behind Jack’s ear and against his neck, then straightened up again. He continued thrusting, and Jack could feel Ianto’s motions growing more erratic. Then, with one final, forceful thrust, Ianto came, Jack pushing back and tightening around him. Ianto fell against his back, cursing, but didn’t pull out. Jack waited for a moment, then moved his hips against Ianto a bit to get his attention again. Ianto, still inside Jack, wrapped his arm around Jack’s waist and grabbed his cock. He pumped it a few times, and Jack came all over his stomach, Ianto’s hand, and the bed.

Jack stretched out, and Ianto pulled out of him and rolled to the side. Jack sighed contently and leaned over to give Ianto a kiss. He studied him closely, brows furrowing. “What’s wrong? That was fucking amazing.”

“It was,” Ianto agreed.

“Then why are you looking like you didn’t come and someone killed your puppy?”

“It’s stupid,” Ianto muttered, hiding his face against the pillow. Jack propped himself up on one elbow and grabbed Ianto’s face, making him look up.

“Nothing you could ever say to me would be stupid.”

“I wanted you to come first.” Ianto waited, and Jack waited, and then he threw his head back and laughed. Ianto looked hurt. “See?” He tried to turn away but Jack grabbed him and kissed him long and hard.

“You’re amazing, you know that?” Ianto looked dubious, but Jack continued. “It doesn’t matter who comes first. You’re always great in bed, and that was one of your best. You should be like that more often.” Jack wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“I always come first. You have never come first. Just once, I’d like for you to wait on me to finish instead of me waiting on you to finish.”

Jack laughed and kissed him again. “I guess we’re just going to have to keep trying then, huh?” Jack slid his palm soothingly down Ianto’s back, then squeezed his ass. Ianto smiled.

  
4.  
Jack came back to life, air filling his lungs and feeling spreading through his body again. His leg hurt and his head was killing him. He moved and felt comforting hands on his chest, arms around his shoulders. He opened his eyes and saw Ianto hovering above him. He didn’t say anything, just held him for a minute while Jack reoriented himself. No matter how many times he died, the few moments after he came back to life never got easier.

Later that night, Jack lay awake, staring at the ceiling. Ianto was asleep beside him, head lying on Jack’s arm beneath it, his body curled securely against his side. He had barely moved for three hours. Jack had tried to sleep, but he couldn’t. His mind was too restless; it was always restless for a few days after he revived.

Jack turned his head and looked at Ianto. Ianto’s mouth was slightly open, breathing smooth and even, his short eyelashes fluttering as his eyes moved underneath his closed lids. Jack rubbed his thumb against Ianto’s bare shoulder in small circles.

He wondered what it was like for Ianto, watching him die and come back to life. Maybe he should have told him before he died that first time, because Ianto had thought he was really dead. He wondered what he had thought that day, losing him so soon after losing Lisa, though Jack knew that Ianto had slowly accepted that he had lost Lisa long before that day in the Hub. It just took too much for Ianto to see it.

He had always wanted to ask Ianto what it was like waiting for him to come back. Did he wonder if this time would be it? Did it become routine, counting the minutes until he was breathing again? Did it get easier, or harder, or did he become numb? Did Ianto feel each time like the two of them were farther apart, each death one more reminder that one day Ianto would die and never come back while he would keep on that static line for eternity?

Jack didn’t have the heart to ask him.

5.  
“Where is it?” Jack shouted. He was making an utter mess of his office, but at that moment he didn’t care. It had to be there somewhere, he just knew it. Ianto was leaning casually against the doorframe, watching.

“Am I going to have to clean this up later?” he asked.

“Forget the damn mess, Ianto,” Jack said. “I can’t find my coat.”

“You had it this morning,” Ianto pointed out.

“Yes, I am aware of that,” Jack snapped. “Now it’s gone.”

“It can’t have gone very far,” Ianto stated matter-of-factly. “You haven’t been out of the Hub all day.”

Jack stood up, annoyed. “Are you going to continue with your Captain Obvious routine, or are you going to help me look?” Ianto turned around and left Jack’s office. “Where are you going?” Jack shouted at his retreating back.

“To look, _sir_ ,” Ianto said without even turning around. Jack cursed and lifted the door leading to his bunk.

“It wouldn’t be down there,” Ianto said a few minutes later from above. Jack looked up, Ianto’s upper body obscuring most of the opening. “We took our clothes off up here.”

“It could have fallen.”

“Doubt it,” Ianto said, disappearing from the hole.

Jack yelled in frustration and ascended the ladder. Ianto was sitting on the edge of the desk, arms crossed. “Owen’s gone.”

“Then he obviously can’t help look,” Jack snapped. “Much like you.”

“What if he took it?” Ianto suggested.

“Why would Owen take my coat? It’s not likely he’d get it mixed up with his own.”

“As a joke.”

Jack thought about it, but then shook his head. “Owen wouldn’t do that. He’d know better.”

“I’m not so sure.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “I swear, if Owen took my coat – “

“I’ll kill him,” Ianto finished.

Jack looked at him. “He’s already dead. He won’t feel it.”

“I’ll shoot him again,” Ianto continued. “It’ll make me feel better.”

Jack shook his head, laughing slightly. “You really do like that coat, don’t you?”

“You have no idea,” Ianto answered.

“Dammit,” Jack said, looking around helplessly.

“Are you going to look all night? Or is it too much to hope that we will eventually go home and eat?”

“You don’t seem that upset that the coat is missing for someone who likes it so much.”

Ianto shrugged. “It didn’t grow legs and walk out of the hub, unless you lied about where you got it.”

Jack ran a hand through his hair. “Fine,” he finally said. “Let’s go. We’ll get the whole team on it tomorrow.”

Ianto followed Jack out of the office, turning off the lights and closing the door as they left.

*****

1 (in which he didn’t).  
Jack sat in the empty hollow of Hub 2. He had sent Gwen and Rhys home. They had spent most of the day cleaning out Ianto’s apartment and typing up reports of the events. Gwen had started to look tired, and Jack had sent them both on their way. No need for everyone to be miserable; he wanted to be alone anyway.

There wasn’t much to clean up at Ianto’s flat. He had spent most of his time either at the Hub or with Jack, so he didn’t have any alien technology hidden at his place. There was nothing there that they had to deal with, but Jack had gathered a few things together anyway. The box was now sitting on the floor at his feet.

He felt like he had just done this. Closing out the files on Toshiko Sato and Owen Harper had been hard enough, even though he’d closed out files on many Torchwood employees over the years. But this was different; this was Ianto Jones.

It’s not like Jack hadn’t loved people who had died; he’d watched most of his lovers die. But none of them had been as young as Ianto. Ianto was only twenty-five, barely a baby. He should have at least fifty more years, not…this.

Jack took a deep breath and kept closing out his file. He felt like he had been at work for weeks, just endless typing and reports and paperwork. He didn’t even know why he was doing all this. It didn’t matter to anyone else if he ever closed out Ianto’s file, but it mattered to him.

After a half hour of deleting files and getting things off of the server, Jack rubbed his eyes and stretched. He automatically looked down at the table beside him and expected to see a coffee cup. The table was empty.

Jack was empty.

He traced a circle on the rusted surface of the table, the width of the bottom of a mug. He could smell the faint aroma of coffee, feel the heat, hear Ianto’s voice behind his head. He could almost feel Ianto’s breath ghosting against the back of his neck.

His hand automatically moved to his neck and he turned around. The warehouse was empty, just like he knew it would be. His neck still tingled.

Jack finally finished his work and turned off both computers. Then, he took them both and hurled them across the room, where they shattered into pieces. Satisfied that they would no longer be of any use, Jack picked up the box at his feet and left the warehouse, the door slamming loudly behind him.  



End file.
